Kitchen Cleaning Tips: How To Keep Your Kitchen Fresh & Sparkling

We practically spend more time in our kitchen than any other room in our house — and for that reason it can get messy, quickly. We sorted through our top tips for keeping the most vested space in your home sparkling and how to keep it spotless.

Weekly Cleaning Guide:

Appliances:

You can make a homemade paste of baking soda and water or a sponge soaked in white vinegar to help dissolve grease on stovetops.Using vinegar, baking soda, water, lemons, and even kosher salt will remove grease of hard surfaces and dishes.Lemon removes oil residue while leaving a fresh scent of smell. Use white vinegar to disinfect your cutting boards or any hard surface in your kitchen like your counters and cabinetsRub baby oil or olive oil over stainless steel appliances to make them look brand new. Just a small dab on a soft cloth will erase any marks and help prevent new ones from sticking.

Oven:

If you don’t have a self-clean oven, sprinkle salt on the residue and build-up while the oven is still warm. When the oven cools, scrape up the residue with a spatula and wipe clean with a cloth. In addition, use a nylon scrubby sponge dipped in soapy hot water for the cruddy stuff.

Fridge:

Wash the interior of your refrigerator with a solution of baking soda and warm water, about 1/2 cup of baking soda for every gallon of water. Clean the drain pan and vacuum underneath to catch any crumbs or food that may have accidentally gotten stuck underneath it.

Cabinets:

Wipe them down with 1/2 cup white vinegar or a solution of 1/4-cup liquid oil soap and 1 gallon of warm water.

Dishwasher:

Run a complete cycle with without any dishes (just detergent) for a clean, deodorized space.

Countertops:

Spray on an all-purpose cleaner, run disposable wipes over the surface, or use steaming-hot water and a small amount of soap and let the soap sit for 10 minutes than wipe dry. A window washer’s squeegee is the best way to keep stainless steel and marble countertops looking immaculate.

Sink:

Pour down several gallons of boiling water to help flush out grease. Follow with 1 cup of white vinegar and scrub the basin with baking soda.

Floors:

Most flooring can be washed with 1-cup vinegar and 1 gallon of water. Use steaming-hot water and a small amount of soap to will any additional residue. Finally, mop again with only water to leave your floors spotless.

Cleaning Hardware: Dishrags are the way to go

Save money and the environment by using dishrags to wipe up messes and clean counters instead of using paper towels. Make them convenient, and store in a drawer near the sink or your cleaning supplies. Simply toss them into a hamper at the end of the day and wash the dishrags once a week.

Another great tip is that you don’t need to spend a fortune or any money at all on dishrags. At our home we recycle old shirts, blankets and towels that have seen brighter days. Simply cut up your old and worn out shirts, PJ pants, old shower towels and even torn blankets into ‘dishrag’ sized cloth and keep a few bigger ones too. They serve as the perfect makeshift mop, cloth to wipe down counters and clean even the biggest messes.

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Got any other great kitchen cleaning tips? Leave us a comment and let us know what your secret is to keeping a squeaky-clean kitchen.